Debt collection for a real estate franchise network (2025)
For a well-known real estate franchise network, part of a major multinational group based in Germany, we handled all ongoing disputes with Italian franchisees, primarily involving debt collection for outstanding royalties following contract termination.
Over time, our client had accumulated a significant amount of unpaid debts, of varying amounts and ages, against former affiliates throughout Italy (approximately 50 cases), for which other law firms had been appointed without satisfactory outcomes.
We therefore took all appropriate debt collection actions, both judicial and extrajudicial, to ensure the client achieved the best possible recovery results, while striving to keep costs as low as possible, particularly by limiting judicial collection actions to cases where there was a genuine possibility of recovering the debt.
After approximately one year of activity, the results were as follows:
- Debts recovered extrajudicially: approximately 35%;
- Debts recovered judicially: approximately 45% (partial figure, some proceedings still pending).
- Debts deducted for tax purposes as a loss: approximately 20%.
Given the results achieved, the Client decided to enter into a continuous legal assistance agreement with our law firm for all routine legal issues related to the franchise network (drafting and revision of the franchise agreements, corporate law aspects, employment law aspects, etc.), at a flat annual fee.
This allowed the Client to improve its internal contractual arrangements (particularly regarding franchising agreements), limiting the occurrence of unpaid debts.
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Avv. Valerio Pandolfini
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